Superintendent's Update - July 29, 2022

July 29, 2022

Dear Shrewsbury Families, Colleagues, & Community Members,

I hope you have been enjoying the summer so far.  Our summer extended programming for students, located at the beautiful new Beal School, has been going very well, and our leadership team is busy planning for the reopening of school in late August.  The first day of school for students in grades 1-12 will be Tuesday, August 30, which is also visiting day for kindergarten families (preschool families will receive information regarding their opening week schedule separately).  The next month will go quickly, and I hope it includes fun and relaxation with family and friends!

Those of you who are Shrewsbury residents recently received the latest issue of the Shrewsbury School Journal, and I’m including a link to it here (there are some great stories, and I love the photo on the front page!).  Please also note the following informational items:

1) Speech & Debate National Recognition: Congratulations to Saketh Madhusudhan, who as an 8th grader this past June was named co-national champion in Speech and Debate in the Declamation category!  Congratulations are also in order for Siri Ural, who just completed her sophomore year at SHS, for earning national runner-up in Impromptu Speaking! Bravo to both of these students for these superb accomplishments!

2) New national emergency number for suicide prevention hotline – 988: Recently, the number 988 was designated for reaching the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for anytime that you or a loved one is in emotional distress or having suicidal thoughts.  Click here for more information and spread the word.

3) Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Student Sleep Health & School Start Times: Parents and caretakers, school district staff members, and community members are invited to apply to be part of an ad hoc advisory committee to the superintendent to study the latest research on sleep health for children and adolescents and to consider potential options for adjusting school start times for the 2023-2024 school year.  This project has been a goal in our district’s 2018-2022 strategic priorities and goals under the category of “enhanced well-being of all” that has been postponed due to the pandemic.  This work will involve substantial time over the course of this fall and into at least early 2023, including evening meetings and research/reading outside of meetings.  If you are interested in being a member of the committee, please send an email to me at jsawyer@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us with “Sleep Health Committee” in the subject line, and include the reasons you are interested in being part of this project.  Members of the committee will be selected in late August.

4) Town of Shrewsbury Strategic Plan — Opportunities for Feedback: Please see this invitation from the Town Manager’s Office: Our town government has entered into its next phase of the Strategic Planning process! After the first round of community feedback, the Board of Selectmen have drafted Strategic Outcome Areas and are looking for feedback from the community on each area! More details on the Strategic Outcome areas can be found on the Strategic Planning webpage. Get involved by attending one of our community feedback sessions or providing your feedback online from the comfort of your home!  The various Community Feedback Sessions are scheduled throughout the Months of July and August over a 4 week period in a variety of modalities - virtual, in person, and drop-in sessions. Please click here to see the schedule. Please reach out to Taylor Galusha at tgalusha@shrewsburyma.gov if you have any questions and visit the website for more information on the project! 

Thank you for your continued support of our schools, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!

Respectfully,

Joe Sawyer
Superintendent of Schools

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